Chapter 18: Sword Formation

Yu Yuan used a secret technique passed down in his family to investigate the cat, only to sense a trace of Heavenly Dao within it. His divine sense was blocked and nearly injured. Still, he maintained a calm expression and said, "Miss Tang, I must admit with some shame—I too cannot discern this cat's origins. All I can tell is that it contains immense energy and aligns with the Heavenly Dao. As for the rest, I cannot see through it."

Tang Yue was intrigued. The Kunlun Palace was famed across the realms for raising and commanding spiritual beasts, with branches of the Myriad Beast Pavilion across many continents. And yet even its young palace master couldn't tell what her cat was? She asked, "May I ask, what does it mean for something to align with the Heavenly Dao?"

"Heaven gives birth to all things, each developing in its own way. Some beings, in their quest for power, stray farther and farther from their original nature. Among the myriad creations, humans are the farthest from the Heavenly Dao, followed by birds and beasts. It's the natural treasures that are closest to it, precisely because they lack a human nature."

"Now, although your cat is a beast, it is more like a naturally formed treasure—closer to the Heavenly Dao. It appears to be born of nature itself, not a creature that has passed through the six realms of reincarnation."

In other words… her cat might not have been born of a mother cat, but possibly leapt out of a stone?

She still didn't fully understand, but figured as long as she could raise it, it didn't matter. "Then may I ask, Young Palace Master, what does a cat born of nature eat?"

Yu Yuan replied, "Things born of nature must be nourished by the same. It likely feeds on spirit herbs, spirit stones, essence minerals—anything formed of heaven and earth's energy."

Tang Yue nearly broke into a cold sweat. So she'd brought home a spirit-stone-devouring beast? But that was fine—she'd just have to invent a few more things and make more money. She could afford to raise one fluffy cat.

"Thank you for your guidance, Young Palace Master."

Yu Yuan took out a mid-grade spirit stone. "No need for thanks. We can try this first."

Then he crushed the spirit stone and fed it to the cat. The ragdoll calmly licked the crushed pieces from his palm.

Tang Yue was stunned—not only was her cat really eating spirit stones, but Yu Yuan had just crushed one with his bare hand. Spirit stones were incredibly tough—even swords struggled to break them. What level of cultivation did this require?

What she didn't know was that Kunlun Palace's bloodline was innately of the Celestial Constitution, and their cultivation couldn't be measured by ordinary standards. They were simply far beyond most cultivators.

"It seems I was right," said Yu Yuan. "I'll be in the area for a few more days. If you have any questions, you're welcome to find me. Oh, and please do not reveal my identity to others. This is a private visit—I wish to avoid the attention of noble families and major sects."

"I understand. Thank you, Young Palace Master. I won't mention your whereabouts. If you need anything from me, please send word."

The two exchanged sound-transmitting jades.

After settling various matters, Tang Yue returned to her routine cultivation. She decided to inspect the sword formation and incorporate sword practice into her daily training. Even if she wasn't going to pursue the sword path, she couldn't waste the resources available to her.

After all, as the daughter of a sword sect's city lord, to have terrible swordsmanship would be a laughingstock. Besides, swordsmanship was a powerful tool for survival in battle.

Shui Yingrou hadn't expected her daughter to want to train in the Sword Cavern so soon and was delighted by her motivation. She gave her a disciple's token, allowing her to enter and train.

When Mu Chongyun heard she was going to the Sword Cavern, he asked to join. Tang Yue agreed—her junior brother had high talent and would make a great model. Plus, it was better to exchange insights than stumble through things alone.

After returning from the Orchid Spring Ravine and celebrating his birthday, Shui Yingrou hosted a small family banquet for Mu Chongyun. Only four people attended: Mu Chongyun, Tang Yue, Shui Yingrou, and Wei Hongyun.

It wasn't that others didn't care—it was just that cultivators lived long lives. Hosting a birthday banquet every year would be too much, so most only celebrated every ten years. Cultivators often skipped birthdays entirely to avoid disrupting their training.

Mu Chongyun had never had a birthday celebration before, so Shui Yingrou prepared this small banquet out of pity. Everyone brought gifts. Even though it was just the four of them, Mu Chongyun was happy—he finally felt like he had a family.

So now, Tang Yue could comfort herself: being guided by a four-year-old junior brother was still better than being guided by a three-year-old one.

At the Sword Cavern, they inserted their disciple tokens and were allowed entry.

Tang Yue went first to test the situation, not wanting to risk her junior brother getting hurt. A flying sword shot toward her. She quickly activated her techniques to block it, but was defeated within three strikes. The sword halted just before touching her and floated quietly in place.

Determining that the danger level wasn't too high, she let her junior brother go next.

When he stepped in, three flying swords came at him instead. It seemed the formation could judge a cultivator's skill and adjust the difficulty accordingly. The strength of the swords was gentler—clearly tailored to his age and size.

Mu Chongyun managed over twenty exchanges without being defeated, clearly possessing strong talent in the sword path. Tang Yue finally understood what a natural sword cultivator looked like.

She didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, she stood to the side and began copying her junior brother's moves. He lasted until the thirty-fifth move before being forced to stop, sweat beading on his forehead.

Knowing he didn't have much stamina, she called him over to rest. "Take a break, have something sweet. No need to rush."

Mu Chongyun agreed and rested nearby, drinking the refreshments Tang Yue had brought.

With energy to spare, Tang Yue continued her practice. Mu Chongyun pointed out, "Senior Sister, these sword moves are based on the Bagua. Try responding with Bagua principles—you'll do better."

Following his advice, she did indeed manage to handle more moves.

The Sword Cavern wasn't limited to one person at a time. It was vast—clearly connected to a different spatial plane.

After a short rest, Mu Chongyun resumed his training. The two of them practiced into the night, unaware of the time until a servant came to call them back, sent by Shui Yingrou who worried they were overworking themselves.

That night, Tang Yue recalled a health-nurturing sword form from the Hibiscus Body Tempering Sutra, designed around the five elements and Bagua. Originally it was meant to regulate the body's qi balance. Practicing it helped with qi recovery, but she now realized its moves could be used in combat.

So she memorized the entire form that night. The next day, she tried it in the Sword Cavern and successfully fended off over a hundred moves from a flying sword. The formation sensed her improvement and added a second sword to spar with her.

"You're amazing, Senior Sister," Mu Chongyun said. "One night and you already improved."

In truth, he was already being challenged by four swords.

She chuckled, "You're the one with real talent."

He grinned, "Well, I had guidance from our grandmaster."

Alright then—if the grandmaster guided her junior brother, and her junior brother guided her… that counted as the grandmaster guiding her too, didn't it?

A month passed. They trained at the Sword Cavern regularly—sometimes for longer, sometimes shorter depending on their schedules—and both made great progress.

Year-end exams were approaching. Tang Yue registered for six subjects: alchemy, talisman crafting, medicine, formations, swordsmanship, and Dao classics. Quite a lot. Most Qi Refining students only took two or three.

Even bookish students like Tang Wan and Shang Fangling only enrolled in four.

But Tang Yue came from an academic background—she wasn't afraid of exams. She'd already studied most of these topics and just needed the tests to consolidate her knowledge.

The exams for Qi Refining students only tested the basics, but she still prepared rigorously—asking upperclassmen about previous questions and creating her own mock exams. Her preparation was thorough.

Mu Chongyun followed her lead. He didn't know how to prepare for exams himself but trusted Tang Yue's methods.

They often quizzed each other. Tang Yue's strongest subject was Dao classics—she'd read philosophy and Daoist texts in the modern world. Mu Chongyun struggled here due to his age, so she explained the key ideas and had him memorize what he needed to pass.

In return, he helped her with sword techniques, sharing his insights.

Thanks to this solid preparation, both earned great results. Mu Chongyun ranked in the top ten. Tang Yue earned the highest score among all Qi Refining students.

Since each student took a different number of subjects, rankings were based on average score, not total. Her best subject was Dao classics, her worst was swordsmanship—though even that was above average. Her well-rounded results made her first overall.

The Qi Refining students at the Zixiao Academy were stunned. Tang Yue had always seemed like a pampered, useless young miss who only got by on her parents' protection. And now she'd placed first? Was there foul play involved?

The academy's instructors quickly addressed the suspicions. "These are serious accusations. All exams were recorded with image stones. Anyone may review the footage. Tang Yue did not cheat."

"Moreover, Nascent Soul cultivators write and administer the exams. Topics are randomly assigned, and no one knows in advance what they'll face. During the exam period, grandmasters even use their heavenly eyes to oversee everything. Cheating is impossible."

The students quieted when they learned a grandmaster was watching, but some still muttered darkly—claiming Shui Yingrou must have bribed the grandmaster to secretly help her daughter cheat.

Even Tang Wenhui, Tang Yue's father, suspected foul play. He subtly probed the grandmaster, who promptly threw him out. "Are you daft? You doubt your daughter, your wife—and now me?"

Tang Yue knew people didn't believe in her, so she signed up for the upcoming Mount Wuji Dao Debate. This was a prestigious event across the Liuzhou continent, attended only by sects with strong Dao studies foundations. Kunwu had never produced a great Dao scholar before—no one from their city had ever participated.

Her signing up shocked the city. They thought she had gone mad trying to prove herself. After all, if she made a fool of herself at the debate, it would be known across all of Liuzhou.